


Thank You

by BitterTongue



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avenger Loki (Marvel), F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 01:52:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16903872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitterTongue/pseuds/BitterTongue
Summary: Loki finds a way to say "Thank you"





	Thank You

**Author's Note:**

> Porting over completed works from my tumblr Cordytriestowrite. Check me out :)

The lights were too bright in the Avengers HQ for the late hour. Even with your eyes closed you could not avoid the harsh florescent light permeating through the thin skin of your eyelids. Your head leaned awkwardly against the back of your chair, the headrest not quite centered to cradle your skull in a comforting way. Your neck already ached with the strain of your long mission, and you could feel your head begin to pound in your exhaustion. Your hand ran hopefully down your thigh, wishing for the familiar lump of your phone to interrupt the smooth path of your palm, but you had left it at home.  
Home is where you wanted to be, all snuggled up in a clean set of pajamas under your blankets. You would put on a familiar and funny tv program and fall asleep to the tune of the end credits. Sadly, home was too far to drive for your overworked body to guarantee your safety. You opted to stay in the headquarters for the night, along with a few others on your team, but before you could collapse on a random bed and leave the world of consciousness you had to shower.  
When the newest Avengers HQ was designed you had not yet been part of the team. If you had been you would have suggested the addition of more than two showers in the whole building. Comfort was not the intended use of the facility, despite it often being used to house the team after a late night mission or temporary shelter for those of you who wandered.  
From your seat you could see the doors of both bathrooms containing the only shower units in the building. There had been a race to get to the bathrooms first, some members of the team faster than others due to unfair advantages like super soldier serum and divinity. So while Steve and Thor enjoyed hot water washing off their dirt caked skin and warming their tired bones the rest of you remained dirty and sore and regretfully awake. You had opted for one of the uncomfortable chairs closer to the bathroom instead of joining the others in the quaint waiting-room-turned-living-room, using your unpleasant seat as means of staying awake long enough to be the next to wash away the grime of a hard won fight.  
A gentle cough pulled your eyes open and toward the source of the sound. Approaching somewhat hesitantly was Loki. You smiled cumbersomely, your brain struggling to keep your eyes opened and your mouth upturned. Loki smiled back, tension fleeing his face. He strode closer toward you, his hands clenched behind him keeping his shoulders square and spine upright. Your eyes took in the god, just as disheveled as you were, his leather armor marred with dirt and blood. Despite the unsightly state of his clothes his face and hair maintained a regal elegance you discovered only he could possess despite the carnage he created in battle. The muscles around your mouth twitched, trying to sum up the energy it would take to express the fondness you felt at seeing Loki’s long black hair curl and twist in defiance of its masters efforts to appear composed.  
Loki moved close enough to make staring up at him from your chair awkward and you rose to better meet his eyeline. You stared quizzically as you observed Loki’s behavior. His hands remained behind his back, head down slightly to prevent your eyes from meeting, his jaw clenched and unclenched making it look like he was trying to find words and coming up empty.  
“Loki?” You said in question, curiosity outliving your patience. It seemed to be enough to snap him out of his reverie. His eyes met yours with steely determination though his lower lip was still clutched between his teeth in apprehension. His arms snaked their way out from behind his back and came back together in front of him between you. You looked down to his large open hands and the offering they held.  
“What is this?” You thought out loud quite stupidly. You could see what it was and it did not warrant a question.  
“A gift.” Loki replied bluntly. Your eyes flicked up from his hands just in time to see the nervous bob of his adams apple in his long pale throat.  
“You’re giving me a knife?” You asked plainly. Maybe you were too tired to get it, to exhausted to understand the gesture. You picked it up, fingertips grazing Loki’s calloused palm as they wrapped around the handle. His hands fell to his sides once you had accepted the weapon with a sure grip. The fingertips of your other hand danced along the bottom of its sheath.  
“A dagger actually.” He corrected. Gingerly his hands came to wrap around yours, the feeling of his delicate touch entirely foreign on your skin. They rested against you for a moment, as if testing the boundaries. Whether these boundaries were set by you or him you weren’t entirely sure. When his fingers began to move yours they were firm and assured. Slowly he used your hand to pull the dagger from its sheath.  
The blade was long and clean, not one that appeared to be used by Loki frequently. It shimmered in the harsh florescent overhead bulbs as Loki rocked your hand this way and that to catch the light on every sharp edge and flat expanse of the blade. Small markings made themselves known to you the longer you looked, swirling in a language you didn’t understand.  
“This is Eir.” Loki explained, his eyes far away in retrospection. His face held the smallest of smiles as he watched the the blade move gently within your cradled hands.  
“You named your dagger?” You joked lightly letting a small chuckle escape. You had watched Thor rush into the bathroom not even ten minutes earlier still clutching Mjolnir. You had become well versed with the god’s custom of naming things that held value or use. Loki’s eyes met yours briefly in amusement.  
“It was a gift to my mother on her joining day to Odin made by brothers Brokkr and Sindri. Its imbued with magic meant to protect the owner and guide their hand.” You hadn’t noticed until Loki had said it, but there was an unexplored thrum pulsating beneath your fingers that warmed the length of your arm and spread tranquility through your chest.  
It was a beautiful dagger, balanced and sharp and obviously full of not only sorcery but adoration and memories and love. You frowned shaking your head rapidly back and forth.  
“Loki, I cant accept this. It was your mother’s-” you thrust the blade back into its sheath, pushing it flat against Loki’s abdomen.  
“Please, I want you to have it. You’ve done so much for me.” He countered holding the dagger in one hand between your bodies while his other hand remained enclosed over yours, clasped tight in desperation.  
“I haven’t done anything! I-I can’t acce-” You exclaimed almost in hysterics. You couldn’t think of anything you had done at any point in your life to warrent such a priceless family heirloom and you couldn’t figure out how to make Loki understand that he would come to regret giving away Eir.  
“You sit next to me when others keep their distance,” Loki’s voice drowned out your frantic declination, “you listen to me when others ignore my words, you ensure I am included while the others prefer to keep me out. You are the only one who makes me feel wanted here. Please, accept Eir and let it protect you in times I cannot.” He pushed the dagger into your free hand and this time you accepted it, your mind reeling with Loki’s confession.  
“T-thank you, Loki.” You squeezed his hand and stepped closer, awe inspired by his words. The hand still holding the sheathed weapon wrapped around his middle to rest gently on his back. You tilted your chin and set your lips against his soft, clean cheek. You sent appreciation through your fingertips into his spine, understanding into the palm flush with yours, and fondness like a fountain flowed from your lips onto his face. You hoped everything you wished to send to Loki was received through the points at which you connected. Exhausted now of physical, mental, and emotional stamina you let your lips and hands fall as you stepped back to a respectable distance.  
The steady sound of running water that had been the background noise of your conversation had ceased and with a tired smile you bent down and collected your overnight bag, tucking Eir snuggly between your towel and pajama pants.  
“Thanks again, Loki. Goodnight.” You whispered, afraid if you said it any louder you would break the moment that settled between you. He nodded, mouthing the words back and maneuvering his hands back behind him.  
You turned, bag in hand, and slipped past a freshly showered Thor into the now free bathroom. The door shut gently behind you, the click of the lock and the sound of the spray drowning out the world beyond.  
On the other side of the door Thor smirked widely at his brother, his arms crossed over his broad chest. Loki rolled his eyes and mirrored his stance, spreading his feet and squaring his shoulders in an unspoken challenge.  
“Don’t say a word.” Loki drawled, untangling one arm to hold up an admonishing finger Thor had grown immune to after centuries of kinship.  
“I didn’t say anything.” Thor responded teasingly. The second bathroom’s door opened reveal Rogers rubbing a towel along his wet tresses. The two brothers stalked toward each other Thor brushing Loki’s shoulder with his own as he sauntered down the hall to bed. His smirk only widened when he heard the bathroom door slam shut behind Loki.


End file.
